Process of treating cacao-seeds to separate unripe from ripe seeds.



M. F. KKSSMODBL.

PROCESS 0E TREATING GAGAO SEEDS T0 SEPARATE UNRIPE FROM RIPE sEEns.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 18, 1909.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

Wi/nesses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

m FEODOB KKSSMODEL, OF LEIPZIG, GERMANY.

To all whom it may concern:-

Be it known that I, MAx FEODOR KKss- MODEL, a subject of the King of Saxony, re-' The cacao seeds which come under the.

treatment of the manufacturer are not uniformly mature, the ripe seeds being mixed with more or less mm c ones. Since only. the ripe, well ferment or rotted seeds possess the full degree of aroma, while the unripe seeds have an astringent flavor, unless the seeds are carefully graded the quality of the manufactured product is greatly deteriorated by the presence of unripe seeds. Grading or sorting can be performed by hand, since the ri e and unripe seeds are usually distinguislfable by color, but this process is too expensive to be adopted in practice.

It is well known that ripe seeds can be more easily crushed by hand, even when unroasted, than the unripe seeds. This is due to the fact that the structure of the cotyledons becomes looser with advancing maturity. The present invention utilizes this fact for the purpose of sorting the seeds according to their degrees of maturity.

It has hitherto been usual to crush the seeds by means of cylinders, after the roasting, the ri e and unripe seeds bein broken and mixed together with their hus s. According to the present invention the seeds are not crushed by cylinders but receive a blow or impact the 'force of which is so calculated that the ripe seeds are crushed, but the unripe seeds remain whole. The degree of maturity at which the separation takes place can be varied by varyingthe force of the blow, and by carrying out the operation in successive stages, with blows of increasing force, the seeds can be graded as exactly as desired, according to varying degrees of ripeness. The crushed seeds may be separated from the uncrushed seeds by sifting. This mode of treatment also facili- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 16, 1809. Serial No. 478,296.

Patented Nov. 1, 1910.

paste, and the separation is further facilitated by a steaming process, which causes a large proportion of the husks to remain nearly unbroken, as will be described hereinafter, whereas the process of e by means of cylinders breaks the husks into small particles. By the improved process the kernels also are less finely divided than by the cvlinder process, and this also facilitates the process of separating the husks, inasmuch as the chief dificulty attendin' that separation is caused by the presence, ofsmall particles. Various means may be used for ,impartmg blows or impacts of reg llrllatable force, for the purpose set forth. e simplest method consists in dropp' the seeds on to a'hard surface, from a suita le height. Another method consistsin projecting the seeds against a hard surface by means of an air current of regulatable force, or blows may be delivered on theseeds b means ofsuitable apparatus. The meth referred in practice consists in flinging e seeds against a hard surface b means of centrifual force. A paratus or this purpose will 0 described ereinafter.

For obtaining a more eflicient or complete separation of husks and cotyledons without materially increasin the cost of manufacture, the whole see ls are separated from those which have become broken during the roasting process, and'these whole seeds are subjected to the action of steam, while being shaken. The steam condenses on the husks and renders them tough and leathery, so that when the seeds are subsequently subjected to the above mentioned blow or nnpact the husks merely burst, and allow the cotyledons to slip out. The cotyledons are broken by the impact; the husks either re: main entire, except at the slit formed by the bursting thereof, or break up into comparatively large ieces many 0 which remain connected wit each other, so that the husks can be easily separated. This produces the very im ortant advantagges that cot ledons ractica y free from hus can be 0 tained y means of very simple apparatus, at low cost. Even in the case 0 thick-skinned cacaos (Guayaquil, Caracas, etc.) the proportion of non-separable husk is small. The apparatus required for the steamin process can be combined with the conveyer y which tates the separation of the husks from the hopp apparatus.

the seeds are transferred from the roasting apparatus to the centrifugal apparatus.

- The amount of space required by the steaming apparatus is small.

Ap aratus for carrying out the operations descri ed is shown in the annexed drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section thereof, and Fig. 2 a plan view.

The elevator- 1 conveys the seeds from the roasting ap ratus or store-room to the .partly close inclined trough 2, which is suspended by means of springs 4: andis longitudinally vibrated by means of the pitman 5. The seeds fall on to the false bottom of the trough, formed by the sieves 3 and 6. Adjacent to the sieve 6 there are steam jets formed for example of perforated pipes 7 connected to a source of steam 7 by flexible pipes 7 Below the other sieve 3 the trough has an aperture located above the er 8, into which are dischar ed the articles of accidentally broken seeds which all through the sieve 3. The water of con densation is discharged through the pipe 9 connected tothe lower end of the trough, and carries with it whatever particles of solid matter fall through the sieve 6. Instead of a trough, other means may be used for agitatin and conveying the seed while it is treate with steam, for example an axially inclined, perforated drum, which may be cylindrical or polygonal, and may contain a sieve or sieves of varying degrees of fineness. Steam may be sup lied to a drum of this kind through a ho low axle. The trough 2 terminates above a conveyer 10, which may be of any suitable type. If the seed is to be stored after its treatment with steam, the conveyer 10 maybe arranged to convey it to sacks or the like used for purposes of storage. In the construction illustrated, the conveyer 10 transfers the seed to the chute 23, down which the seed slides to the hopper 22 of the centrifugal The purpose of the latter, as already explained, is not merely to split the husks and break the kernels, but also to effect the separation of the unripe seeds from the ripe seeds.

' The plate 12 of the centrifugal machine,

on to which the seed falls, is an inverted,

hollow cone fixed to the vertical shaft 11. This plate has on its upper or inner surface ribs 13. The ring or cylinder 15 in the upper part of the casing 14 is of cast iron or other hard material, and has ribs or sharp projections. The coned fioor below the plate 12 has a central aperture and is integral with an inclined discharge pi e 16. The shaft 11 is driven by means 0 beltconnected pulleys 17, 19, 20 and 21, the pulleys 20and 21 being coned to allow of regulating the speed by shifting the belt thereon. The upper end of the shaft 11 is within the tubular lo wer part ofthe hopper 22, and a projecting finger 18 on the shaft insures a regular flow of seed from the hopper. "The seeds falling on to the rotating plate 12 are carried around by means of the ribs 13 and are then flung by centrifugal force against the ring 15. The force of impact, which is regulated by regulating the speed of the shaft, is such that the ripe seeds burst and the unripe seeds remain whole, the kernels of the ripe seeds being at the same time broken. From the ring 15 the mixture of crushed and uncrushed seeds falls on to the coned floor and thence slides through the discharge pipe 16, to be subsequently sepa-' rated by sifting.

llVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The method of treating cacao seeds to separate unripe from ripe seeds consisting in steaming them and subsequently submitting them to an impact of suflicient force to crush ripe seeds but insufiicient to crush un ripe seeds.

2. The process of treating roasted cacao seeds to separate unripe from ripe seeds consisting in sifting out broken seeds, steaming the unbroken seeds, submitting the latter to impact of sufficient force to crush ripe seeds but insufficient to crush unripe seeds, and subsequently separating the crushed from the uncrushed seeds.

3. The process of treating roasted cacao seeds to separate unripe from ripe seeds consisting in sifting out broken seeds, steaming the unbroken seeds, projecting the latter against a wall with suflicient force to crush ripe seeds but insufficient to crush unripe seeds, and subsequently separating the crushed from the uncrushed seeds.

4. The process of treating cacao seeds to separate unripe from ripe seeds consisting in steaming the seeds, submitting the seeds to impact of sufiicient force to crush the ripe seeds, but insuflicient to crush the unripe seeds, and subsequently separating the crushed from the uncrushed seeds.

5. The process of treating cacao seeds to separate unripe from ripe seeds consisting in steaming the seeds, projecting the seeds against a surface with suflicient force to crush the ripe seeds, but-insuflicient to crush the unripe seeds and subsequently separating the crushed from the uncrushed seeds.

6. The process of treating cacao seeds to separate unripe from ripe seeds consisting in sifting out broken seeds, steaming the unbroken seeds, and submitting the latter to impact of suflicient force to crush the ripe seeds, but insufiicient to crush the unripe seeds.

7. The process of treating cacao seeds to Separate unripe from ripe seeds consisting in sifting out broken seeds, steaming the unbroken seeds, and projecting the latter against a surface with sufiieient force to crush the ripe seeds, but insnfiieient to crush the unripe seeds.

In witness whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two wit- HERM. TARK, RUDOLPH FRICKE. 

